Stop Big Box Retail in Mid-City/Bayou St. John

New Orleans is one of the few places left where a local economy and small retailers still thrive. This has helped create the unique character and culture of our city.

The proposed national big box retail development in the Mid-City and Bayou St. John neighborhoods would destroy our small local businesses, ruin our local economy and create a traffic nightmare.

There are many empty shopping malls and strip malls in areas that would welcome a big box retail development because it would help revitalize their neighborhood. In the Mid-City/Bayou St. John neighborhoods, however, this kind of retail development threatens the quaint, small town character, ambiance and culture of these neighborhoods and would drive a stake through the heart of our city.

As the Times Picayune article said, big box retailers have been looking for entry into our city "to expand from the suburbs into the urban core". This is not just about the Mid-City and Bayou St. John neighborhoods, this is a “Battle for New Orleans“.